Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.'" Luke 4:9-10
What did you do after you got baptized? Did you have a party with your family to celebrate? Maybe you were a big spender and took your whole family out to dinner.
Jesus' baptism was followed by a 40-day fast in the desert. He goes out in the wilderness to prepare for His years of public ministry. Jesus was both God and human, and probably after a few days, He felt the hunger pains. On day 40, Satan comes to tempt Jesus three times. First, he tempts Jesus to turn stones to bread, which after that many days of having an empty stomach probably sounded delicious. Satan started with the physical need, tempting Jesus to satisfy His own hunger in the wrong way. When Jesus resisted, the evil one turned to the lure of power and position. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth and offered Him the power and authority to rule. Jesus responded to both of these temptations with the words, "It is written", and quoted the Bible. Satan, being the schemer that he is, comes back a third time to tempt Jesus by twisting God's Word. He took Jesus up to the highest point of the temple and quoted Scripture. It is twisted, though, because Satan was fast-forwarding God's timeline, testing Jesus.
Satan takes God's own Word and puts his evil agenda and spin on it to discredit God and test Jesus. What I love about Luke's account of this story is that Jesus stood up to the test. It says in verse 13 of chapter 4, "When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came." The devil was no match for Jesus Christ. He crushed Satan's challenges of meeting His own physical needs, gaining power and position, then finally the temptation to get all the glory and prestige for Himself. With these responses, Satan was powerless to accomplish his own twisted purposes.
When Satan or his minions come and affect us with adversity or temptation, we have to see through their tactics. We have to have a good knowledge of the Scriptures so we can be reminded of the truth. We have to be able to challenge our enemy with the very Word of God, just as Jesus did. We also have to have a good understanding of what the Bible is communicating so we can see through his attempt to twist what God inspired. Make the most of your time in the Bible every day. It is your best weapon against the attacks of Satan.
What is your plan for memorizing and meditating on Scripture? You might read that question with a blank stare because you have no plan, or it might have been a long time since you committed a verse to memory. Every month, we provide a verse to memorize for our church. If you commit to memorizing each verse, you will load your toolbox with 12 new verses that will help refocus you on God. Write out your plan for memorization in your notes section, and pray that God gives you the courage to stand in this Forgotten War!
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’”
Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
